Elder Scrolls: Imagine Breaker
by Healthcare.gov
Summary: As WWIII came to a close, Touma Kamijou found himself in a position of certain death... only to wake up dazed and confused on the back of a wooden cart, destined for the chopping block of Helgen. Now set in a bizarre new world, our hero has to find a way back home. But this begs the question, why is he here in the first place? And what does the Imagine Breaker have to do with it?
1. Chapter 1: Truly Unbound

Kamijou Touma turned around as the ocean came into full view. How ironic that the last glimpse that he would have of this ugly world was a view as beautiful as this. Not that he minded, of course. He had done it. The Star of Bethlehem had been shut down and was now crumbling into the waters below. The world that he loved had been protected. Making his way to the ledge that lay before him, he sat down, his legs dangling off the edge of the ruins. Crumbling bits and pieces of churches began to break off as Fiamma's plans quite literally fell to pieces. The setting sun painted the sky with hues of orange and red and reflected beautifully off of the Arctic Ocean. Nothing more, and nothing less, than a beautiful view. And with that, he took one last deep breath as the crumbling island's velocity took a steep increase, and he smiled.

His work here in this world was done. He could rest.

And as the water rose to meet him, he felt a strange feeling of contentment. As if he knew everything would turn out alright in the end. And with that Kamijou Touma, he who purifies God and slays demons, closed his eyes one last time as the cold water enveloped him and his consciousness left his body...

Only to wake up on a wooden cart moments later.

Shaking the grogginess from his eyes, he squinted and made out the body of a man driving the cart, along with several other carts ahead of them, all filled with people. There were others, who appeared to be guards, riding alongside on horseback.

"Hey, you!" Came a voice from the opposite side of the cart.

Turning to face the source of the voice, he was greeted with the visage of a middle-aged man with blond hair that reached down to his shoulders. He wore a sort of tunic-armour, dyed blue and interwoven with bits and pieces of chainmail.

"You're finally awake! You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, just like us, and that thief over there." The blond man said, causing Touma to crinkle his brow in confusion. Border? Imperial ambush? What the hell was going on? And what the hell was he wearing? Looking down at himself, he saw that his hands were bound for one, but he was dressed in a dirty brown tunic with matching pants and shoes, same as another man in the cart, who Touma assumed was the thief the blond man had referred to. The only difference was that somehow, Touma's shoes had holes along the side and his pants were shredded somehow. Must've caught a nail or something. Such misfortune.

"Everything was going fine until you damned Stormcloaks came along! If it weren't for you, I would've gotten that horse and have been halfway to Hammerfell by now!" The thief exclaimed angrily, snapping the misfortunate Kamijou from his thoughts.

"Excuse me, what's going on?" Touma asked, interjecting himself.

"Poor guy, those Imperials must've hit him hard." The thief remarked.

"He must be scared. Where do you think he came from?"

"Oi! Don't talk like I'm not here!" Touma shouted indignantly. Their conversation was cut short as the carts began to enter a town.

The town had a very rustic feel, further exaggerated by the very ancient look of the civilian's clothing. The roads and buildings were made from cobblestone and everything carried a very medieval feeling as opposed to the futuristic skylines of Academy City that Touma was used to waking up to seeing instead of this. '_What is this, some rural town in England?'_ The carts soon slowed to a stop in front of what appeared to be a massive guard tower in the middle of the town square. Surrounding it were several people, many of them dressed in armour. In the middle of the square was a man dressed in an executioner's outfit, hefting an equally as intimidating axe. Touma's confusion soon morphed into dread as the people on the carts were directed off and into a line. Their names were called out in a very orderly, yet respectful fashion. As if they were all men about to die.

"Rolof, of Riverwood." The blonde man stepped forward and fell in line. '_Riverwood? What's with this old naming style?'_

They called another name, and the thief slowly stepped forward, before making a break for it. The thief ran as fast as he could, but evidently, not fast enough to outrun the arrows that bit into his back. He hit the ground hard and lay still.

Touma was next in line. He gulped.

"Who is he? He's not on the list?" The soldier holding the list gestured at Touma.

"Who cares? He was on that cart for a reason. Stick him with the rest of them." Another, more important looking, the soldier said. Sighing, the one holding the scroll gestured for our unlucky protagonist to move along. Shaking his head in protest, Touma attempted to reason with the guards.

"There has to be some mistake, I don't even know how I got here!" He protested.

"The law makes no mistakes, kid. At least face this with honour, unlike that thief on the floor over there." The important-looking guard said in a strict tone. Seeing no escape at this point, Touma sighed and slunk along.

"Such misfortune."

"Don't worry, we'll make sure your body is preserved well and your remains are sent back to where you came from." The guard holding the scroll said.

'_As if that's supposed to help me feel better!' _Touma thought bitterly. '_At least he's being polite about it.'_

As Touma gathered with the other prisoners, a priest began to say some form of rites, but one prisoner just exclaimed something about "getting it over with" and walked up to the chopping block. And much to Touma's horror, the executioner raised his axe high, and brought it down with a decisive chop, the prisoner spasming for a second as his head fell into the basket beneath him. '_Oh my God, they aren't joking about this!' _Touma thought frantically as his eyes darted back and forth looking for an avenue of escape.

"You there! You're next. Up to the block, prisoner." Ordered the Captain. Touma gulped again. Often times he would attempt to run, but judging by the corpse of the thief laying face down on the cobblestone roads, he'd bet all of his pitiful savings that he'd be shot dead before he made it even 20 paces. Seeing no other choice, Touma slowly stepped towards the chopping block.

"I said, up to the block!" The Captain yelled once more, causing Touma to up his pace. Kneeling down at the block of stone, and placing his head in the groove and faced downwards at the basket, which to his horror and disgust, still contained the previous prisoner's head.

'_I guess this is the end of this misfortunate Kamijou's story. His head in a basket in a land I haven't even heard of before!'_

"Such misfortune."

So as the headsman raised his axe, Touma closed his eyes and prepared for his impending demise. A demise that never came. A piercing roar cut through the silence and the flapping of wings drew ever closer. Looking upwards, Touma's eyes widened in shock as a _literal dragon _was perched on the tower above him. Staring at the beast above him, Touma could not shake the feeling of extreme dread pooling in his stomach. Bile rose from his stomach and his head was throbbing. One thing that did bother him more than anything else was a bizarre pulsing in his right hand, the Imagine Breaker. This right hand of his constantly perplexed him, and this time was no exception, and frankly, it scared him shitless. He resisted the urge to scream in fright. The dragon let out another roar before beginning its assault by letting loose a stream of fire upon the people gathered in the square. Seeing this as his chance, Touma quickly scrambled to his feet and made haste for the safest looking building he could find. The watchtower that stood stoically above him was looking worse for wear, with cracks running up the sides of the once-mighty building. Turning around, Touma spotted Rolof and some of the other prisoners running for another tower on the far side of the square. Seeing as it was his best bet, Touma quickly dashed for the tower and slipped inside.

"Oh good, you made it out," Rolof said, heaving heavily from mad sprint they had just made. "Jarl Ulfric, what was that?"

The man he addressed, who Touma assumed was Ulfric, simply shook his head. "The end times are upon us, my friend. You! Spiky hair. You were closest to that wyrm. Did you see any distinctive details on it?"

"Uh… it had a lot of black spikes covering it, but it carried this strange presence. I don't know how to describe it… it was… it was like the world was about to end in that very instant." Touma answered. "And my name is Kamijou Touma, by the way."

"Well, it is nice to meet you, Kamijou Touma. If only it could be on better terms." Ulfric nodded in response. "And it appears my hunch was correct. Alduin has returned."

"Alduin?" Touma questioned.

"He's that old monster they used in those bedtime stories to keep the children from misbehaving. Something about a dragon that would eat your soul if you were naughty. I thought it was all just horseshit before all of this, but it turns out he's more fact than fiction." Rolof said grimly.

"The actual legend says he resides in Sovngarde and consumes the souls of the dead. It is prophesized that he will eventually consume the whole world to make way for the next." Ulfric finished. "But one thing is for certain. Nobody in this village will survive unless we get out as soon as possible. The only possible exit right now is to keep going up." On cue, several of the prisoners started up the stairwell, followed by Touma and Rolof… only to be blown into the far wall by an unknown force coming from the wall closest to them. Touma came to a halt in front of one of the fallen prisoners, but as he kneeled down to check for a pulse, he noticed what had blown open the wall in the first place. Peering through that wall was Alduin himself, looking right at Touma. That same dread Touma felt earlier returned but he pushed it down. He wouldn't be feeling anything if he stayed still. But he couldn't move for another reason. There were three unconscious prisoners laying buried beneath the rubble behind him and he wouldn't just leave them. But he was torn between his conscious mind and his bodily reflexes as Alduin reared his head back and breathed in. Acting on pure instinct alone, Touma positioned himself in front of the downed men and thrust his right hand forward.

**[YOL TOOR SHUL!] **The shout resounded and a stream of blazing hot fire erupted from Alduin's mouth and right into Kamijou's hand. It pooled and massed into a massive ball centred around the Imagine Breaker before slowly dissolving and winking out of existence. His arm began to pulsate and throb uncomfortably, and the pain almost forced Touma to his knees. The Throbbing became stronger and the pain became sharper as the blood beneath the Imagine Breaker began to shift and white light glowed underneath his skin in patches. And then, the feeling stopped.

"Get down, boy!" Touma was snapped out of his daze as Rolof charged forward and utilized a stolen sword to slash right at Alduin's snout. Snorting with indignance, the dragon flew off to terrorize less troublesome prey. Standing up, Touma looked down on the unconscious prisoners before Ulfric stopped him.

"I'll help my own men. Rolof, you and Kamijou will make a run for Helgen Keep while I muster who's left to meet you outside the city." Ulfric commanded, helping one of the shaken men to his feet.

"My Jarl, I cannot just leave you here at the mercy of that monster!" Rolof protested but was silenced with a hand from Ulfric.

"It will take more than this to kill me, my friend. Now go, I will see you in Windhelm!" With a wave of his hand, Rolof grit his teeth and begrudgingly nodded before motioning for Touma to follow him.

"Our only way out of this tower is onto that roof," Rolof said, pointing at the opening in the thatched roof of a nearby cottage. "We'll have to jump for it. You ready?"

"Trust me, I've jumped from far higher places than this before." Touma chuckled darkly. Oh, the things his misfortune put him through. Rolof looked on in a mix of confusion and concern as he watched the spiky-haired boy continue to chuckle before shaking it off and jumping through the smoke and into the cottage. Touma, seeing as his companion had just taken the plunge, followed behind. Landing with a roll in the burning house, he quickly made his way outside just in time to see a group of soldiers and prisoners get roasted alive by Alduin, who performed another fly by, this time grabbing one of the guards in his claws. Touma cringed as the dragon flung the poor soul off into the distance. Following behind Rolof, they made their way into a small alleyway in between a house and the city wall on their way to reach the keep. As they began to jog through, an Imperial Soldier, who Touma recognized as the one who had been holding the list before the executions began took notice of them and began to shout something before Alduin landed behind the three of them. "You two! Backs against the wall! Now!" He yelled.

Without a second to waste, the three men threw themselves against the cottage wall and a jet of flames shot past them again. Once again the throbbing in Touma's right hand returned, but the pain wasn't nearly as bad. That didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable.

'_What the hell is this throbbing?' _He thought as he gritted his teeth. As the dragon flew off, he shook the pain from his arm and began to follow the two men out of the alley.

"Dammit Hadvar, don't try and stop me!" Rolof yelled at the soldier, who Touma assumed was Hadvar.

"To hell with you and you blasted Stormcloaks, you damned traitor!" Hadvar yelled back.

Despite this, the two appeared ready to have a go with each other, Hadvar brandishing his Imperial style shortsword and Rolof grabbing his sword from his hip once more. They both snarled at each other in obvious disdain. Quickly shoving himself in between the two, Touma shoved the two angry men apart.

"Are we really gonna do this now? There's a literal flying death lizard above us right now and you're worried about _this? _Why don't we get inside first, then we can sort out this pathetic illusion!" The two men relaxed a little bit, though their eyes never left the other as the trio quickly entered the keep. They entered in some sort of armoury.

"Grab whatever you need. We'll have to be prepared if that dragon comes back around." Hadvar said, quickly cutting Touma's bindings. Flexing his sore wrists, the wielder of Imagine Breaker looked around the room for some proper clothing. Opening a chest, he quickly grabbed a better-looking tunic that wasn't ripped, a proper pair of pants with a belt, and a pair of armoured boots from off a shelf. Moving to leave the room, Rolof eyed his figure before handing him something.

"Look, I saw you using that right hand of yours to stop literal dragon fire, but you're going to need something more than that, no matter how powerful it is." He said before sliding a sheathed dagger into his hand. "Trust me, I'm a soldier. You'll need it." Reluctantly, Touma clipped the dagger to his waist and went over to the door, where both Rolof and Hadvar were waiting.

"There's a passageway that will take us under the keep and out into a cave that'll exit the city. Right now, it's our best bet if we want to get out of here alive." Hadvar explained, leading the two through the keep and down several flights of stairs. Above them, they could still hear the dull flapping of Alduin's wings and the sounds of battle. Every so often, there was a loud bang and dust would fall from the ceiling, spurring the group to pick up the pace. Along the way, the group would pass by several rooms that contained various items like healing potions, which further reinforced Touma's belief that he had truly transcended into another world. Eventually, they reached a point where the man-made structure that was Helgen Keep blended into what appeared to be a massive cavern. Looking around, Touma could make out the outlines of cobwebs. Massive cobwebs. White string adorned the walls of the cavern and large white rocks adorned the cave floor.

Moving forward curiously, Touma examined the white objects.

"Hey, what're these rocks?" He asked.

"They aren't rocks." Answered Rolof. "And we have company!"

Quickly unsheathing his sword, with Hadvar following suit, the three was greeted to the sight of several massive spiders skittering towards them. Face evolving into one of shock, Touma took an involuntary step back before he bumping into something… hairy. And the thing hissed.

"Frostbite spiders." Hadvar said grimly.

Shrieking a little, Touma jumped back to his two companions, who had both prepared to strike against their eight-legged adversaries. With a quick leap forward, Hadvar slashed down on one of the first spider's front legs, separating the limb from the rest of the body. He then followed up with a swift stab to the thorax, ending the oversized arachnid. Not to be outdone by his Imperial counterpart, Rolof slashed hard at the face of another spider, which hissed in pain. Sidestepping the consequent attack that took the form of several lashing legs, Rolof flourished his sword, raised it, and plunged it down into the spider's head. Touma, meanwhile, stood on the side. His dagger was in his hand, but after seeing how brutally those spiders had been dispatched, he honestly didn't think he had it in him to kill something like this. Alas, his hero complex was getting to him again, considering the biggest thing he'd killed up to this point was an overly fat mosquito. Then again, he really didn't have time to debate morals when a massive bug was charging you with the intent to eat you alive.

Dodging the first attack, Touma gave the spider a hard boot to chew on by slamming his new armoured shoes into the mandibles of the spider. Hissing once again, the spider charged our hero once more but compared to what Touma had faced, it might as well have been moving in slow motion. Readjusting his grip on his dagger, he charged forward and stabbed the spider right in the face, all the way down to the hilt. Removing his weapon, Touma stabbing the offending spider once more in the head to be safe. Retrieving the weapon once more, Touma took stock of the situation. Around the room, there were several more spiders moving in to attack his group. That's when he felt it. That throbbing sensation in his arm. The white motes of light returned to the surface of his skin as it began to itch and writhe. A bright orange light grew from beneath his right palm, and from the moment he saw it, he knew it was bad news.

"ROLOF! HADVAR! GET BACK!" He yelled. As the two men retreated back, there was a large glowing coming from Imagine Breaker that evolved into a bright flash. An ethereal voice rang out throughout the cave. It was deep but had an airy feel to it. But it carried power. Immense power. Power far beyond what any of the three in the room could comprehend. One thing they did know was that fire was now bursting from Touma's palm.

**[YOL TOR SHUL!] ** Out of Touma's right hand burst forth a spiralling pillar of flames that consumed the spiders in front of him, burning them to nothing but smoking ashes.

"Kid… what in the blazes was that?" Hadvar asked slowly.

"By the Nine…" Was all Rolof could get out. Touma himself was equally shocked. Last he checked, the Imagine Breaker never shot fire. Quickly shaking the shock out he turned to his comrades.

"We… should get going. With my misfortune, this place will probably be dropping giant snakes by the time we leave." They all nodded. Leaving the now burnt and charred cave behind them. Eventually, the cavern fed into yet another cave, which appeared to be the exit, but alas, Touma's misfortune had to put in the last word. On the way out, the poor boy tripped over a rock and slid down a slope that led into the cavern, rolling and hitting his… sensitive regions on several rocks before ramming right into a mass of brown fur. Needless to say, the mound of fur wasn't happy.

"A cave bear? Helgen _never _gets any cave bears around here! Especially since foot traffic has been higher here." Hadvar remarked as he and Rolof watched our misfortunate Kamijou run back and forth in the midst of a futile attempt to reason with the cave bear.

"Now now, Mr. Bear, this misfortunate Kamijou-san has had quite a rough day, and is terribly sorry for bothering you! Please! I'm not tasty! STOOOOOP! I GET BITTEN ENOUGH! SSUUUCCCHHH MMMIIIIISSSSSFFFOOOORRRTTUUUUUNNNEEE!" It's funny how somethings can change in an instant, especially when Touma's around.

* * *

In light of several misfortunate events, including being transported to some bizarre world, a recently attempted execution, a dragon attack, a cave full of giant man-eating spiders, and a near mauling at the sharp-clawed paws of a cave bear, Kamijou Touma and his two compatriots finally escaped the ruins of Helgen. Exhausted, the trio sat down in the shade of a crag of rocks. They all tensed for a good long while when they heard the thrum of wings passing above them and off into the distance. It appeared Alduin had his fill. For now.

"Alright. I think we should get moving." Touma said and began to stand up before he was stopped by Rolof.

"Wait. I still have questions. About that hand of yours." The man said, slowly getting to his feet.

"I'll explain everything I can to the best of my abilities soon. First, we should get out of here. We're right in the open, and frankly, I want to get out of here fast in case that dragon - Alduin, was it? - Comes back." Touma reasoned. This is when Hadvar stepped in.

"There's a town down the road. My hometown, and it's Rolof's too. It's a little logging town and traveller's stop called Riverwood. My uncle owns the smithy there, so we should be able to stay there without many heads being turned." Hadvar said. Rolof nodded, somewhat begrudgingly, in agreement. Touma saw no reason to complain. Hell, he'd only been in this world for the better part of a couple of hours.

"What a mess I've gotten myself into. Such misfortune." Touma sighed to himself. "Alright, let's do it. Lead on."

So without further ado, the group grabbed their belongings and started down the road to Riverwood, where answers would hopefully be found, and the story would really begin.


	2. Chapter 2: One Hell Of A Trip

**Hello! I'm Healthcare, and thank you to everyone who read chapter 1! I'm really grateful to everyone who gave their support by following or reviewing. Speaking of which, I'll answer those now.**

**truepeluche: You've got the right idea there, my friend.**

**Guest: If this fic ever goes M, it will be for violence or gore, but never for lemons. Our man Touma has the density of a black hole, so he would never actually get a proper girl anyways.**

**Also, big thanks to my man MemeDevil for looking this chapter over, and just being a super awesome bro in general. Check out his stuff.**

**Anyways, onto the chapter!**

* * *

The journey to Riverwood had been short, but it wasn't at all smooth. For some reason, wolves seemed to _really _enjoy the look of Touma's spiky hair, and thus began the mad rush to chase him, and only him. After ditching the pack of canines with a quick dip in the nearby river, the soaked boy made his way back to his companions, who had settled down on the side of the path resting in the midday sun, relieving some stress from the dragon attack mere hours earlier. Next, an encroaching male deer made its way onto the path. Seeing as most of Skyrim was quite filled with wildlife, the two soldiers paid it no mind, and as such, the foreign Kamijou followed their lead. Unfortunately, it appeared that some of the wolves' scent or whatnot must've gotten on his clothes, despite the fact that he had just soaked in the freezing rushing river. This led to the deer reacting in the only way it knew. It impulsively swung its head to the side and slammed the poor Kamijou in the chest with an antlered head, sending the poor boy flying into the river. The two men quickly fished him out of the water, and it appeared that nothing was broken, but there was a momentary lapse of attention from him as he sat on the riverside in a dazed state.

20 minutes of rest later, and they got back on the road. Everything was fine for the next half an hour or so until they reached the Guardian Stones.

"These stones are said to offer a direct prayer straight to the Gods, who in turn offer their blessings." Hadvar had explained, walking up to lay his hand on the weathered stone. "The Warrior Stone offers one a great boost in battle, while the Mage Stone gives one a heightened affinity to the mystic arts. Finally, the Thief Stone grants one the boon of stealth, increasing one's dexterity and sleight of hand a noticeable degree. It is often said that those with such skills become one with the shadows themselves."

Touma found his eyebrows quirking up at that. A blessing? On him? Why wouldn't he say no? Besides, a boost to his fighting abilities would be welcome considering the fact that he had just gone from plunging into the sea to barely avoiding execution by beheading, followed shortly by incineration.

"How do I activate it?" Touma asked, inspecting the Warrior Stone.

"It's simple, just place your hand upon it and send a prayer up to the heavens, and the stone should respond to you," Rolof said. "You should feel the effects right after."

"...Ok." Touma had never been religious, despite the things he saw. Between a bunch of middle school girls chanting spells in the dialect of the Norse Gods and tall-looking 14-year-olds using the powers of witch hunts, he never really found a calling to any specific faith and whatnot. But the basic principles of their customs had been pounded into his head by Index, who insisted he at least know the formalities with several _interesting folks _visiting his home and all that. Lowering his head in respect and closing his eyes, Touma placed his right hand upon the stone.

'_Whoever is up there. Please. Grant me your strength. So that I may survive. So that I may defeat my enemies. So that I may find my way home. And above all, so that I may protect all that I can. Am-' _

Sadly, this touching moment of prayer was cut short by an explosion.

Ah yes, our friend Kamijou had placed the Imagine Breaker on the Warrior Stone. The constant battle of negation between the constant flow of Magicka and whatever thing that resided within Kamijou's arm was too much for mere stone to contain, and, in layman's terms, blew that shit up. Thus sending Touma careening into the side of a rock wall. Needless to say, he blacked out, but only after uttering one last phrase.

"Such misfortune."

* * *

"Uhhh…" Touma groaned as he slowly came to. Maybe placing the one thing that could negate literal dragonfire on the magical stone that carried an unparalleled amount of power capable of blessing warriors with immense strength was a bad idea. Yeah, nice thinking there, Touma. Propping himself up, he quickly noticed that he was inside a wooden cabin, laying on what appeared to be a sewn bedroll.

"Ah, you're awake." Rolof quickly came into his field of view.

"What happened?" Touma asked, caressing his head. "The last thing I remember doing is placing my hand on the stone… and I'm an idiot."

"You still have to tell us about that hand of yours, boy. We had to drag you all the way down to the village." Hadvar spoke up from the other side of the room. He was sitting in a chair nursing a mug of what appeared to be tea.

"So, we're in Riverwood?"

"Yes. We have been for about 6 hours now." Rolof responded again, helping the misfortunate boy to his feet.

"And I believe I have some explaining to do."

"Yes, you do. Take a seat, grab something to eat," Hadvar answered this time. "We'll be here for a while."

Pulling up a chair, Touma sat down and grabbed a piece of bread, and took a bite.

"And by the way, whose house are we in?" Touma asked, chewing thoughtfully.

"My uncle Alvor's," Hadvar responded, taking a bite of cheese. "He runs the smithy here in Riverwood. We brought you here and he let us stay for a bit. He's outside if you want to talk to him when we're done."

"And it's also my sister Gurder's. I don't know why she passed up that lumberman Hod for these Imperial scum." Rolof cut in with an irritated look on his face. "She could've done much better with him. I never knew what she saw in that damned old smith."

"Oi, don't go insulting my uncle like that. Like it or not, he's your brother-in-law and that old hag of yours is my aunt now." Hadvar retorted, taking another, more aggressive bite of his cheese. Touma awkwardly cleared his throat, drawing the two men's attention.

"Can we get on with this?" He asked, to which the two men huffed.

"As long as this Imperial/Stormcloak scum doesn't talk to me." They both said, prompting Touma to facepalm. '_Why can't I just have one normal conversation?' _He thought despondently.

"So, I think we should start with a round of introductions. I'm Kamijou Touma. I come from Academy City in Japan, which seems to be far away from here."

"I'm Hadvar, Imperial Army Sergeant. I'm from Riverwood." Hadvar followed.

"And I'm Rolof. Stormcloak Corporal. From the same." Finished Rolof.

"Alright with that out of the way, I suppose we should talk about the elephant in the room-" Touma began.

"The ele-what?"

"The big question. You want to know about my hand, right?"

Both nodded their confirmation. "Yes, I'm fairly certain we want to know about the hand that blocked _dragonfire, _spat it back out, and then outright destroyed one of the Guardian Stones, which have been in place for _centuries,_" Rolof said, "It's not every day when someone like you comes along."

Touma had to sweatdrop at that.

"From what I understand, I've had it since birth. It's called the Imagine Breaker. What it does is it negates any and all supernatural phenomena it touches. Be it magic, or other abilities, I can negate them all." He explained. "It does seem to have a limit if the source of the ability is constant, and said ability is strong enough to break through my negation, but that's only ever happened to me a few times before."

"And why it can shoot fire? It didn't look like any spell I'd ever seen." Hadvar asked.

"That's new for me too! My arm just started to itch and throb, and the next thing I know is that I start shooting fire!" Touma exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "I don't know what I did, but that happened, and I just know that it'll give me some form of misfortune in the future! ARGH! Why can't fate leave this misfortunate Kamijou alone to his quiet school life?" Now it was the two men's turn to watch in confusion as the spiky-haired boy collapsed into his hands, quietly sobbing.

"Anyways, I suppose we should get onto the next question. Where did you come from? You really don't seem to know anything about Skyrim." Rolof proposed the next question.

"I said earlier that I came from a place called Academy City in a country called Japan, on a planet called Earth," Touma replied, taking a sip of water from a nearby cup. "It's renowned for its extreme technological advancements, like building elevators into space and such."

"What are elevators?"

"Nevermind."

"Well, wherever this 'Academy City' and 'Japan' are, it sure is far away. You're currently in Skyrim, the northernmost province on the continent of Tamriel. This 'Earth' you speak of must be far away because the world we reside on is called Nirn." Hadvar said, much to Touma's disdain.

"Not only am I in a different country but on a different planet? What sort of misfortune is this?!" At this, he seemed to visibly deflate into a puddle on the floor, weeping all the while. "Nothing makes sense anymore…" He whimpered, before perking up in curiosity.

"Wait… if we're from different planets, then how can we be speaking the same language?" He questioned.

"What do you mean? You're speaking perfect Imperial standard." Hadvar replied, and Rolof nodded.

"And you're both speaking perfect Japanese…"

The two decided not to dwell on that uncomfortable subject and move onto the next question.

"Who are these Stormcloaks and Imperials? The Empire is pretty obvious but who are the Stormcloaks?" Touma asked.

"The Stormcloaks are a group of… rebels that have chosen to fight against the Empire's rightful rule. They have already killed the High King and have since been trying to wrest control! They are nothing but scum." Hadvar spat out with disdain. Rolof shot back his explanation with a sneer on his face at this.

"Contrary to what this _philistine _says, the Stormcloaks are a group that seeks to throw off the yoke that the Empire has placed on the people of Skyrim! We are merely fighting back against the injustice of the banning of the worship of our champion among the Nine! Maybe once upon a time, the Empire may have done Skyrim good, but those times have long past! It's time for a new ruler! For a be-" Rolof was cut off when the man of the house, along with his wife and children, entered.

"The Stormcloaks are a group of insurgents that have turned to violence to get what they want," Alvor began.

"HA!" Hadvar yelled, jabbing a finger into Rolof's chest.

"And the Empire has done nothing but let the Thalmor trample on our lands and let our economy plummet." He finished.

"HA!" Rolof returned, slapping Hadvar's shoulder.

"And these two happen to be on opposite ends of the war." Alvor said, gesturing to the two men who were about an arm's length from beating each other into the ground. Sighing, he walked up to shake Touma's hand.

"I'm Alvor, the smith of this village. My wife over there is Rolof's sister, Gurder, and these are my children, my daughter Dorthe, and my son Frodnar. I heard you're new around here, so welcome to Skyrim. It's nice to meet you." He said.

"Thanks, I'm Kamijou Touma. Nice to meet you too."

"We heard the explosions and we saw that wretched thing flying overhead. Thank the Nine that you're alright." Gerdur said. "I thought you all were done for sure."

"Wait, Alduin flew overhead?" Rolof asked, snapped out of his little spat with Hadvar. Gerdur nodded. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. If Alduin flew overhead, then he would have no doubt seen the village. If he had attacked a fortified village such as Helgen, then he would have even less trouble annihilating a small lumber town like Riverwood.

"Father, will the big dragon come back?" The silence was shattered when the young boy, Frodnar asked the question with a small voice while tugging at his father's coal-stained apron. Smiling, Alvor knelt down to Frodnar's eye-level.

"Frodnar, if that dragon comes back, I'll make sure to beat it right in the nose with a Warhammer, because nothing will ever happen to you, right?" He said with a fatherly smile. "Because you know I can forge a weapon that can crack a Giant's skull like a walnut."

Frodnar giggled a bit at that.

"Now go outside and play with your sister now, ok? I have to talk to your uncles and their friend now." He said in a calming tone as Frodnar nodded and followed Dorthe out the door.

"Alright, now we can talk about more serious matters. I could probably get in a good shot on that wyrm, but as it is right now, we only have two guards stationed here to deal with domestic disputes and even then, they can only do so much. This is why Gerdur has all but taken over has the de facto leader of Riverwood. If Alduin attacks this place, I think we'd be lucky to even get 10 paces out of the gate before we'd been incinerated." The smith said solemnly. "Most of us have barely used more than a kitchen knife. The only one of us in the civilian workforce that can actually handle a weapon besides my wife and I is the lumber worker Faendal. All in all, we have 5 people against the one they call the 'World Eater.' We won't stand a chance."

Silence fell over the group once again. Despite only being in Skyrim for the better part of a day, he still felt somewhat attached to this place. It was in his nature. He wanted to do something. He wouldn't let this go. After all, he was the one who had lost all his memories for the sake of one girl. He was the one who had his arm cut off for the sake of another. He fought those who could obliterate him with nothing more but than a mere touch for the sake of another. Time and time again, he found himself in this exact situation where he could act, and the answer and outcome had always the same.

"The only thing we can do is sit tight and wait for news of this to reach Whiterun and the Jarl, but all we can do is sit and watch the skies." Alvor continued. "We're considering sending out one of our own, but we don't know if they'll make it or not considering the influx of bandit raids lately."

"I'll do it." Touma stood up. "I can go to Whiterun and ask this 'Jarl' to send you some troops."

"Are you sure? The road isn't that long, but there have been a lot of bandits and dangerous wildlife in the location lately." Alvor asked, quirking his eyebrow.

"I should be able to handle it if I make a break for it, right?"

"Once again, it isn't that far. You just have to be careful out there. We're not forcing you, it's your choice. Just know that there are a lot of risks out there, lad." Alvor said. "But, if these two went with you…"

Hadvar and Rolof just looked at each other.

"**I'm not going anywhere with him!"**

…

"Such misfortune."

* * *

To the outside eye, this group was the most out of place party anyone had ever seen. A frazzled spiky-haired boy, a tired-looking Imperial legionnaire, and an irritated Stormcloak soldier, all travelling together. The plan was simple. Touma was to go to Whiterun to deliver the news of the dragon attack to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater of the same city as well as ask for reinforcements to be sent to Riverwood. Hadvar was to take the news to Solitude. General Tullius was there, no doubt, but it was still his duty to report and back up his superior officer's claims. Meanwhile, Rolof was to do the same for Windhelm. This way, they could all get the information to each other faster and spread it to all the major powers. The only issue was that they had to travel with each other for just a bit longer. Hadvar and Rolof had only tolerated each other because they both shared a common goal at the time, which was to survive. Now that the threat of death was gone, the only threat they faced was each other.

Meanwhile, poor Touma was still trying to figure out what the hell had happened to him. Since the immediacy of the situation was over, it gave him time to think. How exactly had he gotten here in the first place? Last time he checked, he wasn't under any form of transportation spell. A particularly strong illusion spell? No, he had touched his head earlier with Imagine Breaker and nothing happened. It appeared he really had been transported to another world. But how? The Imagine Breaker would've cancelled out any form of spell that could have called him to another world. Nevertheless, here he was, and he could figure all of this stuff out when he talked to someone who actually knew what was happening, unlike him. This was the case with most of the stuff that happened to him. He was a bit of an expert at this point.

Rounding a few corners, the crew broke out of the forests and hills that surrounded Riverwood and out onto a large expanse of grassy plains, set against the majestic backdrop of Skyrim's mountain range. Fluffy white clouds floated lazily high in the sky as a soft breeze rolled over the hills, the grass and bushes swaying in time with the gusts of wind. The group quickly found a paved stone path and followed it, passing by a few windmills and even a trade caravan led by… cat people? Considering the crazy shit he'd seen today, Touma decided to try his best to ignore it. He just waved and walked along. Shrugging a backpack that contained a few supplies that were generously donated by Alvor, higher onto his shoulders, he just followed along as Hadvar and Rolof began to argue for the umpteenth time. Soon, the looming silhouette of a massive palace began to pierce through the clouds.

"That's Dragonsreach Palace. It's where Jarl Balgruuf is." Hadvar said, gesturing to the large structure before them. "We'll take you to the city gates, and then you take the word to the Jarl."

"Yes, yes. It's time for this misfortunate Kamijou to earn his keep." The poor boy sighed, before starting up along the path to the gates. He passed by a few guards dressed in bright yellow uniforms and a couple of battlements until they reached the main gate, where they were stopped by a guard.

"Halt. Due to all of this wartime business, the Jarl has decreed that no one shall enter Whiterun without a valid reason." The guard stated with a practiced tone.

"We come bearing a message from Helgen and Riverwood." Said Hadvar, with a curt tone.

"So it really did happen… the World Eater has returned…" The guard mumbled in a shocked tone. "As much as I'd like to let you in, all we've heard are rumours, and if I do believe you, regulations are regulations. I'll have to take it up to the Jarl or one of the higher-ups if you want to get in."

"It's urgent." Touma said, stepping forward.

"But I can't risk having intruders inside the city as well." Reasoned the guard.

"Look, either we go in nice and quiet, or I'll show you a real situation that's _not _in rumours." This is when Rolof stepped in. He got right in the guard's face, his hand moving down to rest on the pommel of his sword. Visibly shaken, the guard slowly stepped back and began to wordlessly open the gate.

"And that's how it's done like a true Nord." Rolof smirked smugly.

* * *

"You really didn't have to do that, you know?" Touma said with an exasperated tone as he bid his goodbyes to Rolof and Hadvar. There was a Stormcloak camp in a fort nearby that would supply both Rolof and, begrudgingly, Hadvar with supplies and horses for their journey.

"It's called aggressive diplomacy," Rolof said, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. "I prefer that rather than that cowardly discussion you Imperials seem to love so much."

"Can't we just move past this?"

"**No."**

"I figured…" Touma sweatdropped. "That aside, it's been nice travelling with you two. I hope you guys get to wherever you're going safely."

"The trip to both capitals are pretty well guarded. We should be fine." Hadvar said. "And good luck with the Jarl. It may not look like us, Riverwood means a lot to both of us. It's where we grew up. I'm trusting you to see that our hometown is kept safe."

"I promise." Came the instant response. Extending his hand, Hadvar had a slight grin of confidence on his face. He may have only known this misfortunate kid for a short while, but he had the feeling that he would come through. Touma smiled as well, and reached up and shook the man's hand. And with that, they were off. Two soldiers, and one high school boy. Dropped onto the same path by fate, and now, they had a common goal. To protect. And that was all they needed. Turning back slightly to watch his companions walk away behind him, Touma started on his way to Dragonsreach.


	3. Chapter 3: Ascent and Dissent

**Hello everyone! Happy holidays! Once again I would like to thank everyone who displayed their support, and my bro MemeDevil for reviewing and lending me his ever-important insight. Onto some reviews:**

**truepeluche: Glad to see that my decision to include both was good. Glad to see you're thinking ahead too. I have a very Touma-like solution for that one cooking up.**

**Guest: Whoops. Fixed. I am well aware of the famed Kami-yan Disease, and I can assure you that there will be some classic Kamijou conundrums. **

**G119: Thank you! Their interaction may not be what you're looking for, but I hope I got the dialogue down well enough.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After leaving his companions at the front gates, Touma started down the road to Dragonsreach. The town of Whiterun paid little attention to the newcomer, despite his bizarre looks and even more bizarre hairdo. After all, they had literal catfolk coming through the town anyways. And was that a… lizard guy? Touma wasn't surprised at this point. Continuing on his pleasant walk through the city, Touma took in the ambiance of the Whiterun streets. Bounding up a series of steps that lead to the main town square, Touma marvelled at the flight of stairs leading up to his destination. Dragonsreach.

Ascending the stone steps, he quickly reached the massive wooden doors that served as his entrance. He was greeted by another guard.

"Baldor told us you were coming. The Jarl is inside." He said, gesturing to the double doors. Nodding, Touma followed the guard inside. Once he stepped into the hall he was greeted with a lavish main hall with an impressively sized bonfire surrounded by dining tables, which was set for the midday meal, in the middle. At the far end was a massive throne, and on it sat a man That wore some sort of formal circlet on his head and was clothed in some fairly expensive garb, as expected of the Jarl of a major city. The meal itself was quite rich, something a poor high school boy like Touma could only dream and weep about. As he approached the Jarl, a dark-skinned female clad in battle gear stepped forward.

"Halt. Guard, what is your business with this individual?" The woman questioned in a stiff tone.

"Baldor came with news of a messenger at the gates. He is here to converse with the Jarl." The guard explained, gesturing to Touma, who merely waved.

"I see. You are dismissed." The Jarl said as he waved the guard off, who saluted and walked off to his post. "Now, what is your name, messenger?"

Internally reciting the speech he would give to the Jarl, Touma took a deep breath and tightened up his posture.

"Kamijou Touma, but you can just call me Touma." The boy replied in a respectful tone.

"Greetings, Touma. I am Jarl Balruuf of Whiterun, and I welcome you to Dragonsreach. Now, let us get to business. What message do you bring?" Balgruuf said, edging out of his seat to sit up straighter.

"I came from Helgen, after the dragon attack." Touma began his rehearsed speech.

"I'm sorry, did you say Helgen? I thought nobody made it out." Balgruuf interjected.

"It seemed like that, but as far as I know, only myself, a Stormcloak soldier named Rolof, and an Imperial soldier named Hadvar, made it out of the city," Touma explained. "We're lucky we even made it out at all."

"I see." Balgruuf sank into his seat. "While this is most certainly some sad news, I assume this isn't why you're here?"

"No, I also come from the village of Riverwood. They came asking for you to send some guards over because, at the moment, none of them stand a chance if _any _threat comes their way. At least, that's how they put it." Touma explained, as the Jarl nods and listens carefully to his words.

"Then it shall be so. Thank you very much, good sir." Balgruuf said, turning to the dark-skinned lady from before.

"Irileth, please gather a detachment of guards to take down to Riverwood. They will need whatever protection they can get." He ordered. Irileth only nodded and marched away. Once she left, Balgruuf returned his attention to Touma.

"Thank you for your services, Touma. I will see to it that you are rewarded nicely. Now if you'll-"

"Excuse me, Jarl." A voice interrupted Balgruuf, and subsequently Touma's sigh of relief. "Forgive my interjection, but I believe you may wish to keep this young man nearby for the next little bit. There are some... questions I wish to ask him."

"Farengar, this better be good…" The Jarl trailed off. It was evident that this wasn't his first dealing with this eccentric individual. The man stepped out of what appeared to be his office. He was clad in blue robes, with a cowl pulled low over his head. The robes themselves had yellow and gold accents and attached to his hip was a various manner of items and pouches, including a dagger, several flowers, and notes and pieces of paper that seemed to be on the cusp of falling out all over the floor from their very messy notebooks and folders.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Farengar Secret-Fire, the resident magical expert and court mage of Whiterun, as well as one of the leading researchers and professors in the field of pre-human species, specifically on the winged-reptiles known as Dragons, who have long since inhabited Nirn since before humanity's inception." The man rattled off without pause as he approached Touma. "And you are?"

"K-Kamijou Touma." He managed to choke out while processing the eccentric man's speech.

"Well then, Kamijou, I wish to speak with you about the dragon attack on Helgen. I want you to recount every detail of it." Farengar said. "Please, come with me to my study. If I may, Jarl Balgruuf?"

"Do what you must, Farengar. As much as I hate turning a lad like you over to his hands, I agree that there will be information gathered from it. Just try not to set him off, okay?" Balgruuf said, sighing and getting up from his throne to accompany the two.

"Okay…" Touma said as he blankly followed the court mage into a messy, paper-filled room off to the side of the main hall. And so they talked and conversed. Farengar supplied the questions, Touma gave the answers. The questions were fairly simple. Basic stuff about the dragon's appearance, various behaviours, attacks, etc. Questions were also asked about Touma's ability, the Imagine Breaker. This bizarre right hand managed to negate the hottest flame known to the mortal mind, and Farengar ate it up. The only problem was that Farengar had a lot of questions. This went on for a significant amount of time, as Farengar threw question and query after query at the poor boy, who just stood there and responded with the best answers that he could muster. Time passed, and Touma didn't know how long it had been since he had started. However, he still answered the questions Farengar asked. He was sure the Jarl had fallen asleep standing.

"I see, I see… This brings us to the proper subject of our meeting." Farengar stated, placing his notebook back into the pouch hanging on his hip. "With your… impressive ability, I believe you are adequate for this task."

"Excuse me, what? If you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly an errand boy." Touma said, bewildered.

"Then why are you running a courier job for a small fishing village?" Farengar shot back, sifting through his papers on his desk while the Jarl looked on with a grim expression.

"Farengar, you aren't thinking…" He started before Farengar cut him off.

"Yes, my Jarl, that is what I'm thinking. All the adventurers we've sent either never return or say they can't get in. This boy may be just who we need."

"What? What do you mean _I'm _the one you need?" Touma asked.

"You see, the incident with Alduin in Helgen isn't a localized one. In fact, reports from across Skyrim report that various winged beasts have been flying overhead and bursting out of the ground as if it were something from a horror story."

"Meaning?" Asked a still confused Touma.

"Do I have to be any blunter? The dragons are returning and in force." Farengar finished. "And you're going to help us stop them."

"Stop them? Wait, do _I _get a say in this?"

"If his arm works the way I think it does, then he should be able to bypass the Draugr, who poses the biggest threat to any who tries to enter the Barrow itself. Besides, this boy seems to have enough common sense to keep his head on his shoulders." Farengar continued, ignoring a sputtering Touma. He turned to the confused boy and began to speak again.

"What we want you to do is travel to the Nordic Ruin known as Bleak Falls Barrow. Inside there is a tablet known as the Dragonstone. The tablet contains all the burial grounds of the ancient dragons and if we map out where each of them is, alongside which ones have already been awakened. We can determine a pattern to see where the next attack will be. To make it simple for you to understand, this is very important if we are to survive the oncoming onslaught." Farengar finished, pulling out a map from underneath the stacks of papers. "If you care even the slightest bit about the human race, then I heavily suggest you help us. If we don't do anything here, then we are doomed."

A tense air of silence permeated the air around the group of men as Touma stared at the marked location on the map. Given the circumstances, and the fact that he had no fucking clue where the hell he was, Touma should've taken the obvious answer. But he was Kamijou Touma. His answer was already decided.

* * *

It was later that night when it hit him how truly fucked he was. The Jarl had provided the unlucky boy with some gold that would allow him to purchase some supplies and a room at the local inn, the Bannered Mare. Walking up the stairs to his room, Touma entered and dropped his new purchases on the dresser. He had gone to the smithy near the entrance of the city and purchased himself some nicer clothes for the sorts of encounters he would have, as well as some groceries from the general store. As he sat down on the bed, kicked off his boots, and placed them by the doorway and laid down. It was then that the dam his brain had subconsciously put up had finally crumbled and left Touma alone with his thoughts. He was supposed to be dead and now was in another world. With no friends. Alone. And he just took a job from a dragon otaku of a court mage to go dungeon crawling for a stone tablet. Damn his hero complex. It occurred to him how lost he was. There was no benchmark between Tamriel and Earth. Academy City might as well just be a dream because the way things were looking it would take a miracle to get home, and those haven't worked out well for him in the past. This wasn't something he could fix by punching or just leaving it to the "professionals." Once again, he was fucked.

After a few hours of rolling around in bed with his thoughts, Touma drifted off.

"Such misfortune…"

He barely slept a wink that night.

A few hours after that, Touma groggily stumbled to his feet. Grabbing his sack of equipment, he quickly took stock of what he had and what he would be needing. He had the dagger that Rolof had given to him back at Helgen, along with the armoured boots. He was wearing the same tunic as well, and it served well as an undershirt. He then looked over his new purchases. Although the Jarl had "graciously provided" him with the gold necessary for a good set of armour, he had only been given the better part of 700 septims, as they called their currency here. Enough for a night's stay at the inn and a simple pair of leather-braced pants and a boiled leather chest plate. And even then, there was very little in the way of proper protection there. This was the best his money could buy. Touma gave out a self-deprecating sigh at this. Some things never change.

After grabbing his bag and sliding on his boots, he quickly made his way down to the foyer of the Bannered Mare. He waved goodbye to the mistress at the bar, he quickly made his way out to the front gate. As he passed, the city began its day. Merchants filed down to the square and began to set up their respective stalls as the sun rose into the sky, illuminating the large, yet rustic, city in a warm glow of yellow and orange. The chilly Skyrim morning air stung Touma's face as he stepped outside the city gates, the bountiful vistas before him briefly stayed the existential dread as he made his way to where Farengar had directed him to.

"_The barrow is located on the top of a nearby mountain. Most of the peak has been explored, and so there will be trails in place for you to take. There will be some wildlife in the area, and there may be some other… inconveniences for you to tackle, but for someone like yourself I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle." _Is what the court mage had explained to him.

The nonchalant manner in which Farengar spoke was a clear tell that he didn't care about whatever happened to him whatsoever. Shaking the bitterness from his head and continuing onward, Touma worked his way up the mountain. He'd been through a lot, and despite how battered he ended up, he was Kamijou Touma, and he always made it back at the end of the day, one way or another. Scaling a steeper section of pathway, patches of snow became evident along the sides of the trail until the whole ground was covered in a blanket of white. The cold nipped at Touma's exposed skin as he pressed on. Eventually, he reached the end of the path that instead opened up into a slanted clearing, surrounded by rocks on both sides. It was about midday when Touma decided to take a break. He had been climbing for quite a bit now, and knowing how these things usually went, he decided it would be best to take a breather. He made himself comfortable next to a snowbank and took the time to snack on a piece of bread. Taking in the beautiful view in front of him, he couldn't help but admire the wonderful landscape of Skyrim. Finishing his food, he stood up and stretched before starting up the slope once more.

As he reached the top of the incline, a building that appeared to be a massive stone structure became apparent. '_There it is. Bleak Falls Barrow.' _He thought as he clambered up the last of the slope. Working his way to a cluster of boulders, Touma peeked around the edge of the rocky outcropping. The entrance to the structure was fairly simple, with an elevated platform that led up to a set of heavy-looking metal doors, all connected by a few flights of stairs.

He spied six people patrolling atop the structure. Moving closer, he began to make out their conversations from here.

"How was that last haul?"

"Good. At least 2000 Septims, plus enough food for the next week."

"Perfect. Any survivors?"

"The pile's bigger, right?"

"Ha."

They were bandits from the look of it, standing around the Barrow, as evident by their armour and weapons at their hips as well as the very macabre sight of a pile of dead bodies off to the side. '_Must be the other adventurers that never made it back.' _Touma thought as he shuddered. Two carried bows, while the rest hefted swords. Touma knew he could probably take them if he played his cards right. The only problem was he didn't want to kill anyone, and they did. Now, this wouldn't be any problem, as Kamijou faced people like this almost on a daily basis, but the difference between then and now was that the Imagine Breaker did wonders against fireballs, ice spikes, and the like. Against a steel blade? Bloody ribbons and mysterious possessive entities weren't a welcome option, thank you very much.

No, it'd take wits to get over this hurdle. Loping around the side of the rock and over to another closer formation, Touma had a plan ready in his head. He'd move up quietly, and take out the guard at the front. Then he'd sweep around and up the stairs to the entrance of the Barrow and knock out the guard at the door before slipping in. Quick, simple, low risk, and high reward, all things that Touma sought for in his life. Taking light steps around the rocks and ensuring that his tracks would be concealed by the snow, Touma snuck up behind the first guard. He had this all down pat. After all, he'd seen it before in movies. Moving as quietly as he could, he grabbed the bandit from behind, slipping his hand in front of the man's mouth, and pulling him downwards… then what did he do? In a fit of uncertainty, Touma did the only thing he thought of. He slammed the struggling bandit into the side of the platform. He was wearing a helmet, so he should be fine. But he was too fine for things to work, as the moment Touma edged away the man let out a hearty groan. Panicking, Touma reacted on instinct and slammed his right fist into the man's face, cleanly knocking him out.

There was silence…

Until the man's body, wrapped in studded leather armour, slid down the side of the wall, the metal bumps scraping at the rock of the wall. Touma resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Lorik? Are you okay? Did you fall again?" Came a voice from above him. It was female, presumably one of the archers. Making himself scarce, Touma pressed himself against the wall. "Lorik? What did the boss say about being on the job drunk?" Cursing his rotten luck, Touma snuck around to the stairs, hoping to get around the archer, but as his luck would have it, another factor made itself known. As he took the first step, his foot caught on something… Lorik's comatose body. Scraping heavily again, Lorik's body shifted along the wall.

"Dammit, Lorik? Alright, I'm coming down!"

...Shit.

* * *

Venelana narrowed her eyes as she unslung her bow. Normally Lorik would respond, even if he was drunk. Hell, he'd say more while tipsy than not. Nocking an arrow, she started down the stairs. Pulling the string on her bow taut, she rounded the corner… to see nothing but footprints. No Lorik. Just tracks in the snow. Releasing the pressure on her bow, she relaxed a little. The guy was probably just taking a leak behind some rocks. She was probably just hearing things at this point. After all, she hadn't taken a nap in 20 or so hours. Rolling her eyes, she returned to her post. That bastard was gonna get an earful from her when he got back.

* * *

Masking his heavy breaths behind his forearm, Touma let out a minuscule sigh of relief. The limp body of Lorik lay slumped against the rock next to him, small clouds of mist dribbling from his mouth. In a rare spot of quick thinking from him, he had grabbed the unconscious bandit, slung him over his shoulder, and awkwardly jogged out and behind the rocks from where he came from. Leaning back into the boulder to his back, Touma took in a deep breath before turning the corner and heading back towards the Barrow. Flattening himself against the side of the platform once more, he edged ever so carefully towards the stairs. The wind whipped and the snow started to roll in.

He looked up and saw the various guards continuing on their patrolling patterns, though some seemed to be taking this a little less serious than they should've. One was leaning against the wall of the building, inhaling deeply from a small green bottle. He looked like he was having the time of his life, grinning like a mad man while he twirled his sword in his other hand. Touma shuddered at the sight. Another seemed to be simply reading, sitting on a chair along the edge of the platform. One thing that stood out was that he also had a twisted grin on his face. Reaching the stairs, Touma took stock of the other guards. Two of them were archers, while the last one simply walked back and forth, stopping occasionally to scan the landscape around him. Stealth wasn't his strong suit, but for once he didn't want to just solve the problem by punching it. Slinking up the stairs, he quickly ducked behind a pillar. Crouching low, he heard the dull thuds of boots behind the pillar. Making haste, he moved out of sight of the guards and slipped inside the building. Inside sat a single bandit mixing something in a pot, which was cooking over top a fire, with a spoon. Seeing as there was no other way for him to progress, Touma steeled himself and moved in behind the bandit. This time, he did it properly, sliding his arm around the bandit's neck and squeezing. After holding the now-limp man in position for a little while, Touma laid the man down on the floor before moving on.

On his way over to the entrance to the actual tomb portion of the barrow, Touma came across a wooden chest. Flipping open the container, he found an assortment of weapons, all of which were useless to him on the account of him not being able to swing a sword properly, a few lockpicks, which he grabbed for no reason other than the fact that they might be useful in the future, a pouch of gold coins, and a red bottle. Eyeing the bottle curiously, there was a label written in the local scripture that he couldn't understand at all. So he could understand speech, but not written words? Weird.

Descending a tunnel of stairs, Touma couldn't shake the scent of decay as the musty smell was thick in the air. For precaution's sake, he unsheathed his dagger and gripped it hard. Turning a corner, Touma couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at how disgusting it smelled. The air reeked with the stench of death and the small piles of rat droppings dotting the floor didn't help either. The air of the room was heavy as if the very contents of the temple below it were adding weight to the atmosphere. Frankly, it freaked Touma out. Sighing once more, he gripped his dagger tighter before continuing onwards.

As he reached the end of the room, he heard a sound. A… _creaking._ There was a reason there weren't any bandits down here…

He heard the growling before he saw the gray, lanky body that stumbled out of its bed and to its feet. Touma was rooted to the ground in terror and only jolted into action when the monster lashed out with a sidearm lunge. Ducking under the lumbering attack, Touma stumbled back, and as luck would have it, he tripped and hit the ground. Rolling to the side, he watched with horror as the creature struck the area where he was mere moments before… and cracked the stone via the impact of the blow. Scrambling to his feet, Touma stood in his normal fighting stance as the creature turned around to face him once more. Farengar's words came back to him.

"_If his arm works the way I think it does, he should be able to bypass the Draugr, who poses the biggest threat to any who tries to enter the Barrow itself." _The court mage had said in passing. '_My arm…? The Imagine Breaker? What does that have to do with… oh!' _

Moving fast, Touma stepped into the Draugr's stance and drove his fist into its stomach, reasoning that his right hand would work best when focused on the centre of mass. He expected results, but he didn't expect anything as brutal as what happened next. As soon as his fist connected with the sunken grey flesh of the Draugr's midsection, the textbook sound of shattering glass was heard… and the undead exploded backwards. It folded in on itself as its back opened up and spat chunks of mushy flesh and bones across the floor in a cone pattern behind it. And with a wet thump, the Draugr fell backwards. Taking an involuntary step back, Touma fought back the urge to vomit. He had expected something to happen, but not something so… gruesome. Biting back the bile, he walked a wide berth around the corpse and continued down into the depths of the dungeon.


	4. Chapter 4: Harsh Noise

**Here we are, back again. If I still have your attention, let's get on to some reviews.**

**Masterx01: I have a plan for IB that I hope isn't stupid. It might anger some of the loremasters from deeper in the LNs, but I certainly hope that you like it. As for Daedra, while they are inherently supernatural, they are a separate race that has a different connection to the world, thus, IB wouldn't affect them. Touma praying to the Nine was more of a comedic segment I wanted to do. Thanks for the support and the advice, I hope I can live up to your expectations.**

**Sagnik Deb: Thanks!**

**G119: Yeah, I got a plan for that. The moral leap will happen soon.**

**FerunaLutelou: While IB will have a lot of strengths here, there's a lot of threats that Touma can't counter as effectively. Ironically, it will be the more mundane of threats that will be the biggest cause for concern.**

**Tsun: Thanks. I have a plan for introducing TouMAN to the grittier side of things. Will it be good? We'll have to see.**

**Blindfold Snake: Yes.**

**IllusionBreaker, TeotakuFantasia: Here it is, my friends.**

**Alright, you've all waited long enough. Let's get on with it!**

* * *

If Touma was being honest, this was definitely the most scared he'd been in a long time. From dealing with rampant Level 5s on the level of demigods, Saints that were closer to monsters than anything else, and the literal incarnation of an angel, he acknowledged the abnormality of it all.

But there was just something off about the eerie barrow. The deeper he descended, the more unsettled he felt. As if something terrifying hid behind every nook and cranny and more often than not, there was. The errant Draugr would pop out of seemingly nowhere and Touma would swing his right arm to make the dead's illusion of life disappear.

The cleaning up of the living dead did little to alleviate the oppressive atmosphere that permeated within the barrow. The stench of death still lingered no matter how many Draugr fell.

Every so often, Touma would come across a chest or box that he would rifle through. There usually wasn't much to speak of aside from some pouches of septims and various trinkets. Sometimes when he looked at the surrounding shelves, he would find some of the coloured bottles that he had found earlier. He still had no idea what they did, but he figured if they were coloured that brightly and were labelled, they had to be important for something.

Continuing down the dark hallways, Touma eventually reached an open room. Barring his progress was an iron gate before him. The room was made of the same decayed stone as the rest of the dungeon and featured prominent amounts of overgrowth, thick vines and moss growing in the cracks between slabs of machined rock. There was also a large object that appeared to have fallen from a hole high up on the far wall as it sat in a crater in the floor next to what appeared to be a lever. Slumped next to the lever, was a dead body.

Touma fought back a gag as he approached the body of who appeared to be one of the bandits.

Upon seeing the dead man, Touma's thoughts immediately shifted to that of a Draugr attack, but after examining the man's wounds, he discovered that they weren't the gaping gashes like that of a sword or the dark bruises of a heavy-handed beatdown. The wounds had the appearance of many small punctures. They were too small to be the work of arrows, but rather fit the profile of darts, as evident by the small metal spikes that remained in the majority of his wounds. The death appeared to have occurred only mere moments before Touma had entered the room, as blood was still leaking from the unplugged wounds.

Turning away from the body in an attempt to alleviate the pit in his stomach, the high school boy took notice of three decorated pillars situated in the left-side wall. Moving away from the sickening sight, Touma rested his hand on one of the pillars and gave it a once over.

To his surprise, he found that he could rotate the stone fixtures, which easily spun around on their axis. Each side had a different animal on it: a snake, a hawk, and some aquatic creature that Touma couldn't make out. It was at this point that Touma's thoughts deviated to home, and how he should've paid more attention in class. Maybe if he did, he could catch onto more of these weird puzzles. Sitting himself down on the floor, Touma took a good long moment to think about the situation at hand.

Presumably, this was a puzzle to get past the barred gate that blocked his advance, but there were undoubtedly consequences for failure, as evident by the body of the bandit. The pillars were a part of it, most likely as a combination lock, he noted. But the combination was key. If he messed it up, there would be no second chance to try again.

"ARRRRGGGHHH! This high school boy doesn't have the capacity to think about something like this!" He shouted in frustration, lamenting his lack of intelligence. This wasn't the same as deciding which person to punch! In his defense, if you suffered as many traumatic injuries as poor Kamijou did, you'd be lacking in the brains department as well.

Turning his attention back to the layout of the room, Touma took note of the object that had fallen from the wall. Upon closer observation, he noticed that it had an image of a snake, a carbon copy of the same image on the rotating pillars. Looking upwards, he noticed that the decorations on the wall also had the same images. On the left side, another snake, and on the right side, the aquatic creature. Looking back and forth between the fallen stone and its compatriots on the wall, and to the rotating pillars, it clicked. Walking back over to the pillars, Touma looked back up to the stones on the wall.

_Snake, Snake, Dolphin? It has to be a dolphin. _

Stepping away and double-checking to see if the patterns matched, which they did, Touma walked over to the lever. Tensing up, he prepared to roll as he grasped the lever. "Here goes nothing…" He muttered. Throwing the lever, he was ready to scramble for the iron gate to take cover from the darts, but that was unneeded as the portcullis gave a loud clanking sound before rising. Stepping into the next room, there was a raised platform that had a chest as well as some strange purple gems.

"Agh, that took way too long…" Our hero muttered to himself, giving a light kick to the chest as he opened it. To be frank, Touma isn't actually as dumb as everyone says he is despite many people referring to him as "idiot." It's just that he usually never had any experience with puzzles when dealing with more conventional threats. Like magicians.

Yikes.

Rummaging around in the chest, he pulled out two purple gemstones. One was smaller and more clean-cut, while the other was a paler tone, and rough to both the touch and the eye.

_Farengar ought to know more about this, _he figured as he pocketed the stones along with a few septims laying around inside. Continuing forward, he found himself in front of a winding wooden staircase, the planks having decayed a considerable bit. Seeing as there was no other way forward, Touma tentatively placed his left foot down on the first step. Upon seeing the step holding his weight, he descended down into the musty depths.

However, only after a few steps in, Touma heard a skittering noise from below him. Peeking around the central beam that the steps were attached too, he quickly found the source of the noise. Three enormous rats scampering up the stairs towards him, their mouths slavering with dripping drool. Reaching him in mere seconds, he could only let out a yelp of surprise as one of them jet right past him in a missed attack. Stumbling backwards, he landed solidly on his backside on the step above him and heard a loud, audible _crack. _

"Oh no." The cracking intensified. For a brief moment more there was silence before the whole thing went down. "SUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHH MISFORTUUUUUUUUNNNNNNEEE!"

* * *

"Owwwwww…" Touma groaned as he groggily worked his way to his feet. How far had he fallen? At least 10 feet, he would guess. Thankfully, he was able to cushion his fall somewhat with the body of a giant rat, somewhat minimizing the damage to his person after the fall. Not that it, well, _helped_ him specifically.

The fact still remained that Touma Kamijou had just crushed a rat with his ass.

Stumbling into the next room, he took the time to prop himself up against a desk that sat in the middle of the room. Rather, not so much a desk than a slab of stone that resembled a table. It had a few old rags and metal sticks that looked like they could've been used for something back when this place was still in use, but he had no idea about any of it. His backside also ached like nothing else, and he would rather leave and recoup if not for the fact that his only way back out was laying in pieces.

Then again, did he ever have that option? The way that Farengar had framed the situation was quite dire. It was likely that he would've kept pushing on regardless.

Trudging forward once more, Touma's discomfort grew as the passageway grew progressively darker. The previously ever-present glow of the torches had since faded into nothing but a smudgy blackness. Along with the growing darkness, there was also an influx of what appeared to be spider webs. Large spider webs. Enormous, even.

Pulling out his dagger, he began to cut through the nets of string, needing to force his iron blade through the thick and sticky strands. Finally forcing his way through the last barrier of webbing, he found himself in a significantly more overgrown room when compared to the others in the barrow. The warm light of the torches was completely gone at this point, and there was nothing but the cold grey stone before him.

Clenching his teeth, he made his way to what he presumed was the way forward, one last clump of webbing, when he heard the skittering. A very familiar skittering.

_Relax, Kamijou. It's probably just one of those spiders you took care of. It shouldn't be that big of a deal. It's just a tad on the… _He turned around and was greeted by a Frostbite Spider a fair bit larger than him. _...big side. _

Clicking its mandibles, the spider struck first, lashing out with its front legs. Rolling to the side, Touma backpedalled to the far side of the room, hoping to put some distance between himself and the enormous arachnid. _I need to go on the offensive! If I keep getting pushed around like this, it'll corner me eventually and that'll be that! _He thought frantically. What offensive options did he have? His dagger lacked the reach of those short swords that soldiers like Rolaf and Hadvar favoured so his only option was… _Right, Imagine Breaker! _

Raising his right hand as he did back in the first spider cave, he tried to replicate that sensation. He could feel the power building once more… like it was coursing through his veins. The sensation grew, and Touma braced himself. _Eat this, bug! _The energy was let loose…

...And released a few sparks that fizzled out in the air like dust in the wind.

_What? _Touma's thoughts turned to confusion as he looked down at his smoking right hand. _Did it misfire? Did I do something wrong? Wha- _

The spider let out a screech and spat something at him. Something white and sticky then collided with Touma's chest and sent him stumbling backwards. Unable to use his arms to balance himself, he stumbled back into the wall behind him. Looking down, his arms weren't bound, but they were incredibly numb. He couldn't feel anything at all as the iron dagger in his left hand almost slipped from his grasp. _Spider venom! _

However, his legs seemed to be fine. Even so, there was no way for him to win this fight. With his one "special move" out of commission and his only melee weapon being obsolete, he knew he had to fall back. Turning back towards the way he came, he noticed something. The entryway was too small for the spider to fit through! As long as he made it through that opening, he would be safe for the time being. Regaining his balance, he wobbled a little bit before glancing over at the spider. To his dismay, it was closing in fast.

Hobbling as fast as his off-kilter ass could hobble, Touma practically _dived _for the exit. Grunting with exertion as he hit the ground and rolled to a stop on the far wall of the hallway, he looked back just in time to hear a big crash. The giant spider had slammed into the wall with immense force, shaking the dust from the ageing ceiling. Clambering to his feet, he worked his back to the glow of the torches. The warm heat was welcome as he let out a shaky breath, leaning back against the table.

His upper body was still numb, his senses still dulled. Nevertheless, he struggled to sit upright, trying to force feeling back into his extremities. All the while he was cursing himself for not grabbing one of those swords those bandits had in that chest. Taking deep breaths, he tried to take stock of the situation.

For some reason, that weird power that had manifested itself in Imagine Breaker had seemingly lost its power. There was still something there, but it felt… muted. It was as if he had a handgun without any bullets. Slowly feeling the paralysis in his arms wear off, he took the time to go through the various items in his bag.

He had various bottles of liquid, all in different coloured bottles, as well as a pouch with several coins. Aside from that, all he had was his dagger and the cheap leather armour he had purchased the day before.

_Dammit, I need something with more attack power! _He thought. He had left behind all of the weapons the Draugr had been using, which was a stupid move considering his circumstances. Plus, there was no way to get back up to retrieve anything, as the staircase he had come down had quite literally come down with him, and was in shambles.

"If only that stupid fireball thing would work! Bugs are afraid of fire, right?" He grumbled in frustration. But without that weird spell, he had no way of outright killing that thing.

Looking around the room once more, he decided that something was definitely better than nothing. Maybe a stick would do? One of the broken logs from the remains of the stairs could work. Grabbing a hefty stick of wood near the size of his arm, he walked back into the room. It wouldn't do much, but if he put enough space between himself and the spider, he could eventually whittle the thing down with his makeshift club. Still… if only there was a way to deal some actual damage. Like with fire. His eyes found an answer to his unspoken question when he reflexively glanced at the only sources of light. The lit sconces.

He promptly grabbed some of the old rags laying on the table, wrapped it around the stick, and bound it in a knot before walking over to the sconce. Letting the rags catch the embers, they promptly caught fire. Feeling the remains of the numbness in his arms dissipate, he gave his torch a few experimental swings. Content with the construction of his flaming stick of death, he proceeded to confront his enemy once more.

Walking back into the chamber, the spider had curiously not left for the safety of the webs high above, rather remaining in the centre of the room. Touma gulped as it wheeled around, its mandibles clacking. Not backing down, the boy brought his torch around to bear, slipping into a guarded stance. With an audible shriek that made Touma wince, the large arachnid changed forward on all eight hairy legs. Hopping to the side, he managed to avoid the wide swing of the spider's front two legs. Now facing the bug's flank, he took a swing with the torch.

"Woah!" The smell of singed… bug filled the air as the Frostbite Spider whirled around while skittering in pain. Hopping backwards, Touma narrowly dodged another jab from the enraged bug. Wrinkling his nose at the smell of the spider's burning flesh, Touma waved the torch threateningly in front of him. Hopefully, he could scare it off to some degree. At the very least, it would give him some breathing room.

Hissing once more, the spider seemed like it was taking more caution, warily circling the boy with the flame. Waving his torch even more, Touma bounced lightly on the balls of his feet but remained rooted in his position. Giving up ground to this spider was the last thing he wanted to do. It also seemed that the spider cared little for stopping its assault as well, as it launched forward, legs spread and ready to crush Touma where he stood.

Seeing the avenue for attack, the unlucky boy raised the burning stick up over his head and brought it down right on the spider's open mandibles. Reeling back, the spider shuddered and twitched in pain as it appeared to attempt to assuage its burning face. _This is my chance! _Touma quickly charged the spider while it was dazed and grabbed his dagger from his waist. Steeling himself, he stabbed the iron blade into one of the spider's many eyes.

The beast stumbled back, knocking Touma back onto the floor. After a few moments of twitching, the spider slumped over, completely still.

Groaning a little, Touma picked himself up off the stone floor and walked over to the corpse of the giant arachnid. Taking in the size of the dead bug, he certainly wished that they didn't get any bigger than this. Knowing his luck, however, they probably did. Pulling his dagger free from its place in the spider's eye, he grimaced as green-ish fluid flowed out with the removal of the metal plug. With everything sorted out, he busied himself with attempting to find a way forward.

The room was larger than he thought at first glance but certainly wasn't huge by any standards. Looking at the far end of the room, there was a large mass of webbing covering what looked like some sort of arch-way. Grabbing his slightly grimy dagger once more, Touma began to try to cut himself through. He started at the edges, and soon enough, he had a solid enough opening to squeeze himself through. There was only one hitch, however.

There was a body in the middle of it all.

Cutting open a slit in the mess of threads, Touma found himself face to face with the slightly rotten visage of what he remembered as a Dunmer, or dark elf. Stumbling back in shock, he resisted the urge to throw up for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that day.

Regaining his composure, he looked back towards the unlucky man, who appeared to have been hanging there for quite some time. Just another example of how he could end up if he wasn't careful, and yet another death since he had arrived. There was no other choice though and upon taking another deep breath, Touma began to cut the man down. It took him the better part of half an hour, but eventually, the Dunmer man had been released from the webbing of his demise. He wore a set of leather armour, not unlike what Touma was wearing and also carried a leather satchel.

Carefully taking the bag and opening, he found two objects of interest. One was a simple leather-bound book, the opening page reading "The Journal of Arvel The Swift." The other was an ornate golden object that resembled a three-pronged claw. On the bottom were three circles, each bearing a symbol of an animal that wasn't all that dissimilar from the puzzle in the room earlier.

Slipping the two objects into his own bag, seeing as they may prove important later, Touma resigned himself to moving forward through the opening in the webs, leaving behind the lonely body of Arvel the Swift.

The hallway ahead was long and winding with a couple of other rooms on the side that were strangely empty save for a few embellishments and rags, all of which Touma passed by without much thought. There were a few more of those strange purple-ish gems on a few pedestals which joined his slowly growing collection in his satchel.

Soon, the hall opened up into what looked like a mass-burial chamber. There were the bodies of Draugr and skeletons resting in holes in the walls covered in a mess of cobwebs. Fist clenched, he continued through the room on the balls of his feet with his eyes darting between the unmoving corpses and a cold sweat forming on his back. He neared the end of the room and was about to make his way onto the next chamber without an issue when he heard jarring and unfortunately expected sounds.

The creaking of aged bones, the clatter of ancient steel, and the light shuffle of feet across the cold stone floor. Spinning around, Touma was greeted with not one, but _four _Draugr, each in various states of dress and wielding a wide array of weaponry. Back home, Touma's personal rule was that he could take a 2 on 1 at most, a 3 on 1 he could stall for some time, but a 4 on 1 was when he ran. Unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury as the vicious ghouls blocked his way forward.

He knew that Imagine Breaker had some strange effect on the zombies, but actually getting close to them would be a challenge because of their numbers as well as their armed prowess. Clenching his right fist hard, he prepared to rush the closest of the Draugr before their ranks opened up and revealed a fifth combatant. The fifth Draugr charged forward from behind its comrades and hefted a large greatsword in a powerful overhead strike. Touma, seeing only one avenue of movement, ducked down and hit the deck as the Draugr sailed right over him.

Scrambling to his feet, he turned to face his assailant when he heard a strange noise. Like a "click."

_What was that sound? _Touma scrambled to his feet in a panic with his heart thumping hard. He backed himself against a wall to regain his balance and stared at the Draugrs that were still there, poised to strike. The origin of the sound revealed itself almost instantaneously.

_WHAM!_

Without warning, a spiked wooden… gate emerged from behind the wall and slammed into the charging Draugr with lethal force. So much force that the body sent flying backwards. The trap just slightly brushing by the spiky haired boy's face caused him to slip on his ass. Grunting in pain as his sore back met the floor yet again, he focused himself and pushed his body out of the way from a falling axe that dug into the floor.

Another Draugr moved forward to take the fallen's place as the big wooden door of death wound itself back into place. Seeing as he couldn't afford to play it safe with their numbers, Touma knew he would have to take the offensive. Lucky for him though, it appeared that these particular monsters were of a cheaper make than some of their brethren he had dispatched prior. Dodging an easily telegraphed blow from its sword, Imagine Breaker quickly made contact with the ghoul's jaw, blowing it clean off.

Next, came a swing from a great-axe that would've removed a limb if it hit. He grabbed the headless body before it crumpled to the ground and trapped the dangerous axe inside of its torso. Touma planted his palm on the back of the defenseless Draugr, causing it to go completely limp and crumple to the floor like a puppet with cut strings. It seemed that the explosions from his usage of Imagine Breaker were from the kinetic force, not just the effect of his hand itself. He didn't have time to think about this, however, as another strike came from one of the two remaining enemies.

One carried a shortsword while the other carried an ornate-looking hatchet paired with a shield, as well as having a notably feminine physique.

The woman rushed him first, backed up closely by the swordsman. They both appeared to be marginally faster, as Touma had to hop back a few feet to put some distance between their strikes. But, like the other Draugr, they both possessed a predictable pattern that, more or less, put Touma more at ease concerning the threats they posed. A few more dodges later and certain of the established pattern, Touma found himself in a clean position to end the fight.

Grabbing one of the errant pots off the floor, he hurled it into the face of the one with the axe, sending it toppling over. Sprinting over, he drew his right fist back before letting out a devastating haymaker into the chest of the swordsman. The resulting impact was spectacular, blasting the Draugr back several feet and spraying gray matter out behind it. Wasting no time, he dropped to his knees and slammed his hand over the shoulder of the still-recovering woman, who promptly went limp. Catching his breath, he rose to his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow. His leather armour was sturdy, but it did him no favours in terms of proper ventilation.

"This really is too much for me." He let out a long sigh as he leaned against a wall. Certain that the threat had been dealt with, he decided that if he were to take a break, it would be now. Sitting down, he took stock of the situation.

"Okay, so. I've been cut off from getting back out the entrance and my ass hurts. I just killed a giant spider and 5 more zombies, and all the while I've been stuck in some backwards-is-forwards fantasy world where I somehow speak Nordic?" He mused aloud, chuckling at the disparity of his circumstances. "And now I have to get a tablet with the records of the burials of dragons who want to kill everyone. Jeez, with my luck, this place might as well turn itself upside down… actually wait, I shouldn't say that. Because then it will."

If one were to walk into that room right now, you would see a high school boy sitting against a wall in a medieval get-up chuckling darkly about something or another.

It would be quite uncomfortable for everyone involved if he were to be found.

Too bad no one would find him down here anyway.

"Well, might as well get going." Promptly standing up, Touma made his way over to the remains of the swordsman he had dispatched earlier. Picking up the blade from off the ghoul's body, wasted no time familiarizing himself with the weight of the weapon. If he was going to be spending any prolonged amount of time here, it looked like he was going to need to get used to using one of these. He realized he couldn't quite use it in his right hand since his encounters with Draugr seemed to revolve around Imagine Breaker.

Hefting it in his offhand, the blade felt a little off, but he reckoned he could get some usage out of it. Grabbing the scabbard off the Draugr as well, he sheathed his new weapon. He still had his reservations about using this against actual people, and he wholly doubted his skill, but against threats like Frostbite Spiders, Touma figured he could manage.

Feeling ever so slightly more confident, Touma strapped his weapon to his hip as he continued onward. Maybe this dungeon would mellow out from here on out.

* * *

"Such misfortune…" Touma practically sobbed as he sat himself down on the floor again. The past hour or so had not been fun. From trapped corridors with swinging axes to Draugrs falling out from behind cobwebs and coffins in the walls, Bleak Falls Barrow had proven to be more stressful than he thought. It all culminated with the angry yeti-like creature that Touma could only assume was a troll that chased him throughout a good part of the dungeon behind him. Unlike the oversized bug, Touma doubted he could kill this thing, given how easily it knocked aside an unlucky Draugr like it was a toy tower. Luckily, much like the spider, the wannabe-wampa was too big to fit through the exit that the unlucky Kamijou had used.

Needless to say, he was feeling pretty ragged.

He was also bruised pretty badly when a Draugr got the drop on him and slammed him hard with the shaft of some sort of warhammer. It hurt like hell, but at least nothing was broken. Resigned to continuing deeper, Touma dragged himself off the floor and into the next room. By comparison, this was much larger than any other room in the barrow, barring the cave system with the troll, which was a natural structure. Rather than the claustrophobic hallways of the crypts or the utilitarian design of the puzzle and storage rooms, everything was open, complete with a second floor.

In the middle of the room was a large staircase made out of wood. It appeared to be far sturdier compared to the one he fell through earlier. Over to the side was a coffin that he expected to pop open with a Draugr, and on the top floor, he could spy another undead sentry with a bow, something Touma had yet to encounter.

_Dammit! This isn't a video game! I can't take a shot from that! _He thought, racking his brain for a possible solution. A shield? Something he could use to block arrows?

_Wait a second._ He mentally backtracked to a conflict he had with a group of Draugr. The one with the feminine physique. It had a shield. _Aaaaaaaaah, I'm such an idiot!_ He so desperately wanted to go back to retrieve that shield to remedy his stupidity, but there was a pissed off troll ready to brutalize him in the way.

Looking around the room for another solution, he resisted the urge to groan in frustration, lest he give away his position to the bowman on the high ground. Scanning his surroundings again, he grit his teeth as nothing came to mind.

He searched the room a final time and his eyes drifted to several large pots. They were situated behind a wall and tucked in a blind spot in the archer's vision. The largest of them was easily half of Touma's fairly modest height. If he tried, it could easily fit himself inside. If he crouched, the pot would be more than enough to cover him completely…

And so, this is where Touma Kamijou covered himself with a slightly dank ancient piece of pottery.

He quickly found that movement was a bit iffy with a large pot on his head since he couldn't see anything, so he resigned to using the tip of his sword like one of those canes that blind people used to help feel about their surroundings. The biggest challenge was getting up the spiral stairs to the second floor. Getting up to the second floor negated a lot of the archer's danger as he removed high ground from the equation. It took him about 3 minutes to get to the top of the stairs, but he hadn't fallen over yet, so that was a victory he'd gladly take.

But as he was about to remove his earthenware headwear, he heard footsteps, accentuated by the reddish liquid at their feet. _Oil? _Touma wondered, as he froze, pot halfway off his body. From underneath the lip of the pot, he could see a pair of rotting feet. Practically holding his breath, he was still as… a pot. The Draugr, most likely the bowman, was right in front of him. Any movement would give him away, and then his hair wouldn't be the only thing that was a porcupine. He held that position for another 5 minutes, and he let out a low sigh as the Draugr turned around and made its way back to its post.

Slowly and quietly pulling the pot back over his head, Touma was about to set it down, when his finger found a little jagged edge in the rim of the pot.

"Shit," he hissed, the little crag drawing blood. This caused him to drop the large pot into a pile of smaller pots, which all promptly smashed on the floor in a shower of ceramics. For a moment there was a sickening silence before Touma looked back towards the archer. Unsurprisingly, the Draugr had its glowing eyes trained on him.

As the undead bowman nocked an arrow, Touma did the only thing he could think of. Grabbing a small pot from the scattered pile, he hucked it right into the Draugr's face. The aged pottery soared true and struck the skeletal archer causing the would-be deadly arrow to overshoot. Touma ducked instinctively as the arrow sailed high over his head… and then he heard a "crash" from behind him. At first, he thought it was another pot that had fallen victim to the slaughter of earthenware, but there was another sound. A "fwoosh" sound, almost like… fire?

"What the…" Turning around, Touma was met not by the remains of a pot, but rather a raging inferno blazing through the liquid on the ground! "It _was_ oil!"

Wasting no time sprinting in the opposite direction, Touma couldn't help but lament his luck once more as he looked back at the blaze. On the ceiling of the room, there were lanterns held by ropes, and as his luck would have it, the stray arrow severed the rope holding one of these light sources. Of course, he had no time to think of his circumstances as he made for the exit of the room. It was on the other side of a stone walkway, which Touma gave no thought to as he made a mad dash for the door.

He didn't look back as he heard a resounding "BOOM" from behind him, most likely the remaining oil going up in a firestorm that probably incinerated everything in the room. Even in the hallway outside, he could feel the heat tickling his back. Catching his breath, he continued down the hallway as once again, his way blocked by another deadly hazard.

The hall was noticeably different when compared to the others in the tomb. It was long and straight, as well as arch-shaped. It was lit by several sconces, somehow still alight after who knows how long. It was funny that detail was all Touma latched onto, but he just chalked it up to some weird Nordic magic that he shouldn't worry about. That all went over his head anyways.

No, what really struck him was the images on the walls.

Masterful and elaborate carvings decorated the walls in panels. In each panel was a figure of importance, no doubt some kind of deity, all surrounded by warriors and followers. Even to an outsider like Touma, who had no idea who these people were or the mythology of Skyrim, he could feel the brilliance of these works of art. Taking several moments to look upon the works on the walls, Touma eventually turned away and continued down the hallway.

At the far end of the tunnel, there was a wall with a strange inscription on it, almost like an interface of sorts. It consisted of three concentric circles, each bearing symbols of various animals. After fiddling with it, Touma found that he could rotate these rings. In the middle was a golden circle with three holes in it, forming some kind of array. The holes were wide enough that perhaps some sort of key could have fit, but it was definitely too tight for Touma's finger.

There was no doubt that this was the way forward, but just like the puzzle room earlier, this would take some degree of finesse. However, unlike the previous room, he had no key or clues as to how to open the door. He just studied the door for the next 20 minutes, trying to come up with a solution. Judging from the fact that the rings rotated, he believed it was some kind of combination lock, where you could rotate several rings to spell a word or a series of numbers in order to open it. Of course, since the last one had fired metal spikes when you messed up, he had reason to believe this was trapped as well.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he took stock of everything he had again. Going through his bag, he looked uselessly for anything he could use. His stock of strange red bottles, his sword, his pouch of coins, and a few knick-knacks that he had picked up along the way. But once he reached the bottom of his back, something stood out to him. Namely, Arvel's Journal and the perturbing Golden Claw.

Scratching his head and opening the small, leather-bound book, Touma saw that there were only two pages written.

"Is that really all?" Touma puzzled over that, feeling slightly disappointed. Reading the few paragraphs Arvel had written before his death however, more than made up for the earlier doubts about any lucky hints the boy had.

"_My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw_ _is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius_ _had no idea that his favourite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow." _

Touma eyed the Golden Claw sitting next to him with open intrigue. "I guess I'll have to give this back to that Lucan fellow, then."

"Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that '_when you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands.'" _This was the passage that caught Kamijou's eye.

Mainly the terms "Hall of Stories" and that last sentence. Looking around him, this hall seemed to be the fabled "Hall of Stories" that Arvel had been searching for. It seemed that the last piece of the puzzle was the Claw itself.

Examining the artifact in greater detail, Touma could make out several details of note. First of all, the three individual "claws" on it were lined up in a way that resembled the three holes on the wall. Moreover, on closer examination, there were symbols etched on the bottom of the claw.

There were three of these symbols on the "arch" of the foot the claw emulated. One of a bear, one of a moth, and one of an owl, all in descending order. Looking towards what was now identified as the "door," Touma saw that the rings all had the symbols too. Practically shooting from his spot on the floor, Touma started spinning the rings.

"Bear…"

_Kachunk._

"Moth… there, moth."

_Kachunk._

"And… owl."

_Kachunk._

Taking a deep breath and getting ready to leap backwards in case he had messed this up, Touma slid the claws into the three holes in the centre.

_Click._

With much trepidation, he twisted it to the side. An uncomfortable cold sweat dripped down his back as he tensed up. Time seemed to slow as he pushed the claw it, before quickly righting it and pulling it out, bounding backwards to evade any threats. Luckily for him, the only thing that came down was the door.

Eyes shining and body going slack in relief before shortly feeling excitement that expressed itself in the form of a gleam in his eyes, Touma practically sprinted into the next room.

Inside was a wide-open cave, not unlike what he had seen before. Underground streams ran criss-cross patterns across the cave floor, little stone bridges offering walkways across the damp ground. Stalactites like fangs came down from the ceiling. It was almost like walking into the jaws of some giant monster. At the back of the room was a strange curved wall, a symbol engraved at the top, and some kind of runic text.

Upon approaching, a strange chanting filled the air. It sounded like he came from the wall, yet the sound surrounded him. The ghostly timbre was powerful and full, yet at the same time, withdrawn. It almost put him in a trance as he paced towards the wall. He soon confirmed that the chanting came from the wall, as the closer he got, the louder it became.

The chanting was almost overwhelming, like the sound of a beating drum between his eardrums. He stumbled closer to the wall in a trance-like state with his vision clouding at the edge; only a single word pushing him forward. Touma reached a hand out toward the wall and steadied himself on it before collapsing. His eyes went wide as the cave fell away to nothingness as that one word overpowered his consciousness.

_**Push. **_

Rumbling and pounding in his skull, all he could hear were the many ramblings in his head. Soft voices, loud voices, sharp voices, judgemental voices; the boy could hear them all burrowing its way into his brain. He was vaguely aware he had fallen to his knees as that one word burned itself into his distant vision and mind. The clarity of his mind was falling apart along with the feeling of his hand slipping from the stone mural.

_**Push. **_

His body felt numb but his mind was in total shambles. Everything except shocking lances running through his right hand. His _**right hand**__. __**I̷̡̛̮͉̫̳͐̂̃̚͠m̴̡̟̬̮͔̘̩̙̞͓͑̈́̽̎̆̅̅̔̈̆̉́͜͠a̴̛̤̔͗̄̄̆̀͑͐̐͂g̵̢̢̰̣̮̹͓̗̹͓͖̥̼͍͒̀̓̎̄͛í̶̻̪̻̽̓̐̆̅̔̓̉̽̉͒͒̕͝n̷̜̫̫̝̠̺͚̰͕̣̊̆̍e̴̛̦͕͕̻̩͑̾͛̐̀̕͝͠ ̵̨̮̯̤͍̬͙͍̙͗̇͋̊͊̈͘͘B̴̡̢̧̛̰͔̩̮̣̤͇̰͚̈́̋̿̽͒̌̅̓̈́̓̐̔̕͜͝ͅͅr̶̨̨̢̲̬̻̺̖̞̠͓͕̠͑̈́̈͗̌̈̉̋̈̽̅̀́̔ͅe̵̢̢͓̜̤̘̹͇̦̤̐͐̂̀̎̀̄͗͝ͅͅa̷̧̡̢̘͓̱̱̯͔͙̱͉̅̃̓̀̀́̆̉̈́͊̌͘̚͜͝k̸͓͔̼̪͔͖̩̫̆͊͗̀̊ͅě̴̢̛̖̪͙̻̣̩̰̪͚̤͚̋͌͝ŗ̴̳̯̪̳̲̳͎̲͇̲̃̈͋́ͅ.̸̙̜̙͕̮̅͐͛͐̋̊̆̕͝ ̸̢̝̞̝͕̬͙̒̀̿͐͐͐̊͝**_

_**Į̴̼̮̼̥̤͕͐̀̓̽͑͘m̶̩͕͍̣͕̗͙̲̰̜̭̫̥̱̈́̋̅̒͂͘à̶̞͇̳̍g̴̢͎͎̬̖̮̟̖̣̬͇̘̦͌̈́̈̋̎̌͗͊͜͝͝i̷̝̟̲̜̗̪̗̩͖͖̬̭͙͎͆͗̑͗̋̐̀̊̓́̅̚͘͠͝ṇ̸̨̧̙͇̱̝̘̘̟̤͕͚͉̣͂̓̓́é̶̞̮̻͜ ̴̣̘̞͖̼̜̫̇̓̅̿ͅB̸̛͙͓͗̽̔͑͒̐̈͌͒͜r̸̩̩͐̉͂̌e̷̫̫̹͙̥̱͎̼͓̫͘ą̷̦̗̼̥̺͂̎͝k̶̡̡̩͓͔̻̜̇̚͜͝è̸̛̛̜̼̟͚̦̣̼̥̪̞̩͕̹͛̓͌̐̓͗̌̐͠r̴̢̹̄̚ͅ.̷̹̜̗͉̮̼͍͖̫͇͙͊̍̓̃͠ ̸̲͎͖̟̭̞̻͕̈͌͋̌̈**_

_**̴̣̯̙̫͙̋̌̇̏͐̊͛́͆̉̈́̏̇͂͠ͅ**_

_**̴̟͉͉͎̟͍̰̠̺̀̆̽̐̓̍̈́̄͊̇ͅP̷̡̡̢̛̥͔̞̺̟̱̀̋̌̌̋͝ȗ̷̧̗̣̱͚̺͑̽͂̏͛̑̓̚͜ś̸̡̛͎̠̱̼̘͚̬͈̞͐͌́̂͗̇̋͐͂̕̚͝͝ȟ̷̺͈̠̩̙͎̙.̵̨̢̫̟̲̼̝̳̪̫̰̝͙͒̃͂̈́̆͐̚͜ ̶͎̗̫̒̊̓̑̈́͒̎̿̒͊͝**_

_**̵̡̗̼̬̼̤̳͖̖̤͍̟͖̳́͒͐̃̿̔̿̊͘͜͝**_

_**̷͙̩̪̺͎̪̞͍̿̐͑̈́̿̓̃̓͑̆̽͑̀͜͝͝F̶̢̧̞̳̭̪͇̹̮͍̗͈̠͚̋̓̀̃̋̒̊̐͒̌̇̕Ǘ̵̢̨̨͖̹͍͙̘̯͖͔̺̤̌̈̃̅̃̆̄̓̕ͅS̸̢̼̞͚͖̻͙̬̭̉͜.̶̢̡͙̠͇̒ ̷̯͔̣̓͗̃̐͐̃**_

_**̷̛̰̦̯̜̞̘̯̪͔̫̏̾͆**_

_**FUS! **_

_**STAND. **_

"Gah!" A sharp intake of breath sent cold air into the lungs and pulled the suffering boy back to his normal state. He reflexively reached for his throat in a panic.

And just like that, he was rocketed back to consciousness. His vision cleared, the chanting slowed and came to a stop. His mind fell silent. As he righted himself with a surprising amount of newfound insight, he looked down at his right hand. Breathing heavily, he clutched his forehead.

"..."

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

_Crack. _

Whirling around, all fuzziness gone from his head, he turned to see the lid of a previously ignored coffin blasted open. Out of it stepped a Draugr, but not as he'd seen before. It carried an air of authority.

Stepping out of its resting place, it wore elaborate ancient armour as well as an eye-catching horned helmet. In its hands was a gnarly-looking war axe that looked like it could cut clean through steel. Glowing blue eyes sparked to life as it lumbered towards Touma. Still sluggish from the earlier episode, he was slow in reacting. Pulling his sword from his hip while loosening his tightly clasped right fist, Touma prepared to lunge straight for this imposing Draugr before it did something he never expected.

It kneeled.

"My apologies for the actions of my men," it grumbled, in a deep and guttural tone. "Welcome to the realm of Nirn, Dovahkiin."

* * *

**Welcome to the bottom. Hopefully, that was enough to at least partially make up for my half-year of absence. I apologize profusely for my ineptitude, and I hope that the lack of other priorities at the moment will allow me to update more frequently.**

**I have big plans for this story, and it's been really fun to conceptualize and write. **

**It's also at this point that I would like to thank and credit my friend Parasect, better known on this site as Shroom Crab, for his support and excellent work as a beta reader, as well as my man MemeDevil for not only being a bro but also helping work on the previous chapters.**

**Anyways, I've said my piece. You've given me your time to read my stories, and I'm grateful.**

**Worth the wait? I hope it was.**

**Best wishes to everyone, and stay safe, **

**Healthcare.**


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